“Good. It cost a lot of money to get it this way. Now back to you.”
“Aviation 58 is in Juneau. The state capital. It’s on the panhandle.”
“You’re a pilot?”
“I am. I’m also one of the owners of the airline.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Coast Eagle flew to Seattle and California, but they didn’t venture into the north. “We’re regional.”
She tipped her head back to look at him. “And what brought you to Atlanta, Cole Parker?”
He gave a small shrug. “It’s December. Have you seen a weather report for Alaska?”
“Not recently. Maybe never.”
“It’s cold up there.”
“So you’re on vacation?”
“For a few days, yes.”
For the first time, she allowed herself to take a good look at his face. She realized he was an astonishingly handsome man, deep gray eyes, a straight nose, square chin, all topped with thick, dark hair, cut short and neat. She couldn’t detect aftershave or shampoo, but there was something fresh and clean about his scent.
He was probably six-two. His shoulders were square, body fit and trim. And his big, square hands seemed strong and capable where they held her. In a flash, she realized she was attracted to him.
“Amber?” His deep voice startled her. That sound was another thing she liked about him.
“Yes?”
“I asked if there was anything in particular we should see.”
Had he? How had she missed that?
She quickly corralled her thoughts. “The botanical gardens are beautiful. Or you can do outdoor ice-skating. My favorite is Atlantic Station. A little shopping, a little Christmas-light gazing, some hot chocolate.” She couldn’t help thinking about Zachary and the Christmas events he might enjoy as he got older.
She’d easily come to love seeing him every day. He was a bit fussy in the evenings, but the poor little guy had been through a lot. His mother and father were both gone, and he had no way of knowing why it was happening.
She was doing her best to substitute. And she’d wrapped her head around the possibility of raising a baby. Though she couldn’t yet imagine her life with a child, a school-age child, then a teenager, then a young man. When she thought that far ahead, she feared she wasn’t capable of pulling it off. But she knew she had to come through for him. She was all he had.
She felt a sudden urge to rush home and hold him in her arms, reassure him that she’d figure it out.
“Are we close to the exit?” she asked Cole, thinking she could slip out and get herself home.
“I’ll dance you over there,” said Cole. “Tired?”
“Partly. But this isn’t exactly my thing.”
“I thought the über-rich thrived on fresh crab, Belgian torte and champagne.”
“I’m not über-rich.” Though she could understand how he would make that mistake. Lately, everybody seemed to assume that guardianship of Zachary made her an instant billionaire. It was far more complicated than that.